Excavator.



M. G. BUNNELL.

EXCAVATOR.

APPLICATION man ocT. 24. |910.

Patented Feb. 22,1916.

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com/1M W TTOR/VEYS M. G. BUNNELL.

EXCAVATOR.

AvPucATloN FILED ocT. 24. 1ero.

1,172,579. Patented Feb. 22,1916.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

TTOR/VEY,

M. G. BUNNELL.

EXCAVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED 001324. i910.

1,172,579. Patented Feb. 22,1916.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3. I

wlw/55555 /NI/E/VTUH:

M. G. BUNNELL.

EXCAVATOR.

APPucATloN HLED ocr. 24. 1910.

Patented Feb. 22,1916.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4- MTNESES f/w/E/VTOR.-

M. G. BUNNELL.

EXCAVATOR.

APPgJcATIoN FILED ocT. 24. 1910.

Patented Feb. 22,1916.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5 EMT/@555 ZToR/VEXS,

M. G. BUNNELL.

EXCAVATOR.

APPLICATION man ocr. 24, 1910.

1,172,579. Patented Feb.22,1916.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

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UNITED @AWM @F1-,11cm

EORTON G'. BUNNELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, .ASSIGNOR TO FREDERICK C. AUSTIN, OF CHIGAGfO, ILLINOIS.

nxcava'roa.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MoR'roN G. BUNNnLL, a citizen of the United States of Amerlca, and resident of Chicago, Cook county, Ill1- nois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementv in Excavators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to excavators of that general class in which the buckets or scoops which take up and carry the dirt are mounted on endless chains that travel around sprockets arranged at opposite ends of a frame. In a machine of this kind the buckets or scoops take up the dirt at the lower end of the frame and then travel upward and discharge it at the upper end thereof.'v

Thus the dirt is carried out of the excavation and dumped at the side thereof.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved excavator of this kind which will make a ditch by excavating the dirt at both sides thereof at the same time, and which will dump the dirt upon spoil banks at each side thereof, whereby the ditch is formed by making a series of downward excavations, each excavation joining the one ahead of it, and the machine being permitted each time to reach the bottom of the ditch before being moved along. for the next excavation, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

To this and other useful ends my invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a rear elevation of an excavating machine embodying the principles of my invention, showing the bucket frames lowered and the buckets working in the ground, the excavated dirt being taken up and deposited at opposite sides of the ditch. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the said machine. Fig. 3 is a plan thereof. Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the upper end portion of one of the bucket frames. Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross section on line 5-5 in Fig. 1 Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view, partly in section, of the variable speed mechanism by which the bucket frames are given a variable feed or downward movement to enable the buckets to dig faster or deeper at the top of the excavation than at the bottom thereof, this being desirable and an advantage, inasmuch asthe buckets have a much, greater extent of travel along the ground While working at the bottom of the ditch than at the top thereof, thus making it possible to feed the bucket frame downward much faster at the top of the ditch than at the bottom thereof. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the mechanism l shown in Fig. 6.

As thus illustrated, my invention comprises a main frame A mounted on rear tractors B and front steering wheels C. At the rear of the machine a supplemental frame D is mounted and supportedin position for up and down movement on guides d. The bucket frames E are secured obliquely upon the frame D, one at each side of the machine, and in such manner that they converge at their lower ends. Sprockets c are arranged at the upper end of said frames vE, and similar sprockets e at the lower ends thereof. The endless traveling sprocket chains e2 are mounted upon said sprockets, and have rollers e3 that run in the runways e, which latter are on the frames E. Buckets F are carried on the said chains, each bucket being disposed between the two chains of the frame, and each bucket having front and rear attaching portions f and f that are pivoted to the chains at points of articulation therein, in any suitable manner, whereby the links of the chain may pass freely around the sprockets, as shown in Fig. 4. It will be seen that the buckets are arrangedjto vdig into the ground as they travel upward on the underside of each frame E, and to upset and thereby discharge their contents at the upper ends of the said frames; Each bucket, after it has dumped its load, and after it has passed around and over the sprockets e, is entered by the bail-shaped cleaner Gr which is pivoted at g and provided with a weighted rear end g which keeps it in normal position. These buckets have curved or rounded bot- .toms f8 that are scraped even on the inside l then be backed vup to out off theI ridge left i at the bottom of the previous cutting.

At a distance below its upper end, each frame F is provided with a shaft I having sprocket wheels connected by link belts i with the sprockets 2 on the shafts of the upper sprockets e of the bucket chains. The arms J are (pivoted on the frame A at j and vprovided with curved slots y" that engage the shafts I, whereby these arms J are 'rocked when Athe frames E are raisedand lowered. Sprockets 7'2 aremounted on the lnner ends of these arms J, and driving sprockets j are mounted on the main frame A. Sprocket chains j* are arranged to travel around and upon the sprocketsl jz and j, and the sprockets j on the shaftsI, (see l Fig. 3) whereby the bucket chains are operated. The sprockets 7'2 serve as belt tight'- eners for. the link belts j, as the arms J i automatically preserve the requisite posi- -tions of these sprockets when the frames E are lraised and lowered. Thus the driving connections are always in proper condition. The buckets F may have cutters K that operate on the face or vertical wall L of the cut or excavation, when the frames E are in the ground, as shown in Fig. 2. These cutters may be mounted and arranged in any suitable manner, and project laterally under the frames E, to cut the dirt in front thereof, thus creating a clearance for the downward movement of the said frames.

The frames D and yE are supported by chains or cablesM that extend over sheaves` m on the upper end of the guides d. At the front of the machine a transverse drum shaft m is provided in the drum upon which the other ends of the said raising and lowering chains or cables M are wound. A

short shaft m2 is driven by the engine N and provided with a clutch m3 controlled by a hand lever m4 and connection m". This clutch governs the rotation of the bevel pinion m, which latter meshes with a bevel wheel m7 on the shaft ms. has a connection m with the drum shaft my". Thus by closing the clutch m8 the frame E can be rapidly raised or lowered.

For gradually feeding' the frame E downward, while the buckets are digging or cutting `into the ground, the shaft m2 is pro-A vided with a friction roller m10 which is on' a spline or feather m11, and which engages the face of the wheel m" to drive the latter.

A screw shaft m12 carries a traveling nut This shaft m'3 controlled `b `a hand wheel mi* at the einl cavatmg en of the main frame, through the medium of lbevel gear connections fm,1li and m1 and m". In this way-theoperator or attendant can mover-the rollv of the wheel m` l the frames E downward, causing the feeding movement tobecome slower as the buckets approach the bottom of the ditch.` The feeding motion thus4 accomplished can also be stopped suitably by lmoving the roll mm about the edge f inward to gradually feedr to the center of the wheel m7, as here no g motion `is communicated `to the shaft' an.

Themain gearingfm? serves to lo'ck thel frames at anyup or down or intermediate position. When the bottom of the ditch is reached the closure of. the clutch mi will serve to quickly raise the framesjE above l the ground. v

Power transmitting `connections are vprovided for the engine'to the tractors B,and

to the sprockets js. When the'buckets are operating the tractors B `are not moving,`

and vice versa, 'when the tractors operate to move the machinel forward for `another cut the buckets are 'notoperatingu These connections do not require` any description, as

they simply vinvolve the'well known use of gearing and clutches.

The machine is o erated by feeding the frames E downwar While the buckets are running, `until the bottom of the ditch is` reached. Then the buckets are stopped, and

the frame E raised above ground. The ex. i

cavatoris then moved forward the width of the frames E,xand the operation is repeated to mV e another cut or. excavation.

Thus the ditc 7 is made by a series of cuts or excavations, each joining theone which i is in front, whereby a continuous channel is made to form a ditch. The bottom of said ditch is left clear and level, as the arm H works down the ridge in the4 manner already described.k The machine can be backed u while the buckets are runnin so as to' give a slope to the end vwall o the ditch, particularly when the soil is soft sandl has a tendenc toward giving. The character and lengt of the tractors B are `suchthat the machine can back up to overhang `the cut madeA by the buckets, and to bring the bucket frames awayl from the faceof the'cut When .the

machine backs up, the arm H operates to .1

break off or destroy; the rid e of dirt that was leftbetween the `two'buc et frames, and

the dirt thus loosened is taken up by theV buckets. In this way the machine trims or cleans up the bottom of the ditch as it goes along, leaving thev bottom smooth and slightly depressed aty the center thereof. Obviously, however, there are various ways of using or manipulatin Amy improved machine, which will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I do not limit myself to the` exactV construction shown and described.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In an excavator, a pair of frames which converge downwardly, and which are disposed in the same vertical plane, an endless traveling series of buckets on each frame, means for operating said buckets, means for raising and lowering the frames, and means for changing the position of the excavator, a pivoted member for eliminating the ridge of dirt left between the lower ends of said frames, and means for operating said member.

2. In an excavator, a pair of frames which converge downwardly, and which are disposed in the same vertical plane, an endless traveling series of buckets on each frame, means for operating said buckets, means for raising and lowering the frames, means for changing the position of the excavator, a movable member for eliminating the ridge of dirt left between the lower ends of said frames, and means operated by the travel of one of said series of buckets for actuating said member.

3. In an excavator, a pair of frames which converge downwardly, and which are disposed in the same vertical plane, an endless traveling series of buckets on each frame, means for operating said buckets, means for raising and lowering the frames, means for changing the position of the excavator, a shaft for the lower end of each frame, a member for eliminating the ridge of dirt left between the lower ends of said frames,

and means operated by one of said shafts for actuating said member.

4. In an excavator, a pair of frames which converge downwardly, and which are disposed in the same vertical plane, an endless traveling series of buckets on each frame, means for operating said buckets, means for raising and lowering the frames, means for changing the position of the excavator, a body having said frames disposed at the rear end thereof, means whereby said body can back up to overhang the face of the cut made by said buckets, and means for cutting a shallow groove in the bottom of the ditch when the machine backs up.

5. In an excavator, a pair of frames which converge downwardly, and which are, dis-y posed in the same vertical plane, an endlessv changing the position of the excavator,v a

pivoted member for eliminating the ridge of dirt left between the lower ends of said frames, means for operating said member,la body having said frames disposed at the'ex tremerear end thereof, and means whereby the body is supported entirely in front of the face of the cut madeby said buckets.

6. In an excavator, a pair of frames which converge downwardly, and which are disat the extreme rear end thereof, and means Y whereby the body is supported entirely in front of the face of the cut made by said buckets.

' 7. In an excavator, apair of frames which converge downwardly, and which are disposed inthe same vertical plane, an-endless traveling series of buckets on each frame, means for operating said buckets, means for raising and lowering the frames, means for changing the position of the excavator, a shaft for the lower end of each frame, a member for eliminating the ridge of dirt left between the lower ends of said frames, means operated by one of said shafts for actuating said member, a body having said frames disposed at the extreme rear end thereof, and means whereby the body is supported entirely in front of the face of the cut made by said buckets. y

8. An excavating machine Afor making ditches, comprising an inclined runway, an endless series of buckets traveling on said runway, a power transmitting belt connection for driving said buckets, leading to the upper end of said runway, means for bodily raising and lowering said runway, and automatic mechanism constructed and arranged to maintain said connection in operative con-l dition during the lowering of said runway, operated by the downward `movement thereof, said mechanism including an idler wheel. and cam devices for shifting said wheel.

9. An excavating machine for making ditches, comprising an inclined runway, an endless series of buckets traveling on said runway, a power transmitting belt connection for driving said buckets, leading to the upper end of said runway, means for bodily raising and lowering said runway, and autojmatic mechanism constructed and arranged `to maintain said connection to operative traveling series of buckets on each iframe?" means for operating saidbuckets, means-forv raising and lowering the frames, means'for? condition during thelowering of said runthereof, said mechanism including an idler wheel, a lever on which said wheel is mounted, and meansfjgforjfshifting said lever.

A10. An excavator comprising an excavating device operating by downward movement thereof in the ground, and means operating by horizontal movement of said device for smoothingthe ground at the bottom of the excavation, disposed in ,position whereby the dirt loosened by said horizontal movement of said means is swept up by backward motion of said device.

11. An excavator comprising an excavating device operating by downward movement thereof, and means operating by horizontal movement of said device for cutting a groove in the ground, disposed in position whereby the dirt loosened by said horizontal `motion is swept up by said device, apparatus ment thereof in the ground, and auxiliaryv digging means operating by horizontal' ving banks,-v means for the -two coperating dev1ces, and means' l for' movement of said devicefor smoothing the ground at the bottom of the excavation, to-

gether with another excavating device likey said first mentioned device, coperating therewith to form a ditch with sloping banks, and means whereby said three devices are raised and lowered bodily andl inV 14. An excavator comprising an excavating deviceoperating by downward movement thereofin the ground, 'and auxiliary digging: means operating by horizontal movement of said device for cutting i a groovev in the ground, together with another excavating device like said first mentioned device, coperating therewith at the bottom of the excavation to form aditch with sloplocking the machine to cause the second device to cut said groove.v

Signed by me at Chicago, Illinois, this 14th day '0f Oct., 1910. A

MORTON G. BUN NELL.; Witnesses:

S. LEWIS, E. H. Omoo.

gradually lowering 

